Jul 21, 2012

Nashik: A team of 35 officials has been formed by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Nashik to ensure that there is a complete ban on the sale of gutka and pan masala, FDA joint commissioner, Nashik, Chandrakant Pawar said on Friday.

Pawar added that since the the state government had imposed the ban from July 19 the team would work across Nashik division which comprises Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon and Ahmednagar districts. Awareness will also be inititated in school and colleges, Pawar said.

He added that those found selling gutka and/ or paan masala, would be booked under Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. The accused could face a year's imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh.

The joint commissioner also offered his office number (0253 - 2351204) and two mobile numbers of his officers, 9422163258 and 9421363939, to report incidents of sale of any of the two banned substances anywhere within the division.

There were arguments galore and high drama at many paan-cigarette stalls, with the officers finding burly paanwalas springing off their seats and standing between them and the stalls.
The Food and Drug (FDA) Ministry had announced the total ban on gutkha and pan masala a fortnight ago, but the food safety officers still found it difficult to convince the paan shops that the law mandated they take the products off the shelves.
A team of officers that raided beedi shops found gutkha on display at most of the stalls. A beedi shop in Bandra (East) that was raided by two women and three male food safety officers threw up a surprise as the owners surrounded the officers as soon as they were told selling gutkha was an offence and they must surrender all gutkha packets. The drama lasted half-an-hour, and only after a local police officer intervened did the officers manage to seize the gutkha packets.
“The owners were objecting to the seizure of the packets. We requested them to hand over the gutkha packets to us. It was only after a lot of effort that we managed to seize the packets,” food safety officer Vijay Kumar Gaikwad said.
The officer said in the initial days of the drive, the department would not be filing a case if gutkha was found at a paan shop, but would only issue a warning letter and seize the gutkha packets.
A Bandra beedi shop owner, Mohan Sharma, from whom the FDA seized 57 gutkha packets, said he had been misled by the supplier. “The supplier told us to keep the packets on the shelf. I told him it is banned, but he said there was nothing to worry about,” Sharma said.
Food Safety Commissioner, FDA, Mahesh Zagade said, “From July 20 onwards, gutkha is completely banned in the state. After a thorough study, we found that consumption of gutkha or paan masala for years together leads to acute hyper magnesia and sometimes it leads to cardiac arrest. We don’t want school and college kids to spoil their life by getting addicted to this. Under the new Food Safety Standards Act of India, anybody who sells, hoards or manufactures gutkha and paan masala will be fined.” In the past seven years, 1,173 samples of gutkha or paan masala were collected for tests and analysis, of which 1,153 were found to contain magnesium carbonate as an ingredient. “Research done at Tata Memorial Hospital and a report by the dean of the government dental college, Nagpur, stated that gutkha is carcinogenic and also causes oral sub-mucous fibrosis,” Zagade said. “Under Section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the FDA commissioner has the power to prohibit the sale of gutkha in the interests of public health.”

Punishment for sale of gutkha

Fine from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh or imprisonment from six months to two years

The Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, has been introduced to replace the Prevention of Adulteration Act, 1954. “Ironically, the major challenge of the menace of adulteration has not been dealt with in the new Act but rather more emphasis has been laid down on ‘mis-branded’ food,” the Confederation of All India Traders said

A traders association has urged the union health ministry to constitute an expert committee to look in to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and has also announced nationwide protest against it. Calling the provisions as draconian, unrealistic and impracticable, the association feels that it will impact the businesses of small and medium traders. The Act proposes separate licences for each enterprise and separate audit reports for various products.

BC Bhartia, secretary general, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, “The Act in question prescribes the traders to prepare an audit report, obtain clearance from state pollution control board, get a no-objection certificate from the municipal corporation, medical certificates of workers, graduate technologist and a separate audit report for products made from milk, which is not possible under the Indian food conditions. The Act is framed is in utter disregard of the ground realties and will promote big corporate houses to enter into food business.”

It further added that, “This would trigger further corruption and would allow government machinery to harass the traders-said CAIT,” he added.

The traders association has called upon union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to constitute an expert committee of food policy analysts, government officials and representative of trade to review the provisions of the Act.

The Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, has been introduced to replace the Prevention of Adulteration Act 1954. “Ironically, the major challenge of the menace of adulteration has not been dealt with in the new Act but rather more emphasis has been laid down on ‘mis-branded’ food, which does not fall under the ambit of ‘adulteration’. Adulteration is a heinous crime which cannot be misbranded because of distinction in implications of classification. Such a provision will encroach upon the rights of the consumers in the country. The Act will promote adulteration or demote it, is a question?” CAIT said in a release.

CAIT is conducting a national conference of trade leaders on 10th and 11th May at New Delhi to discuss a national agitation. Earlier, traders from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had already held a trade bandh for four and three days, respectively. On 25th April, Madhya Pradesh-based MP Sumitra Mahajan has also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha.

The issue of food safety dominated the discussions at a meeting of the Corporation council here on Friday.

In an emergency resolution, councillor from Thoppayil T. Sujan said the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 (FSA) had undermined the civic body’s powers to check the quality of food served in hotels.

“It needed to be studied whether the newly formed Food Safety Commissionerate was functioning effectively. There were only 10 Food Safety Officers for the entire district under the Commissionerate whereas when it was handled by the Corporation’s health committee, there were 63 health inspectors. Under the Act, the licensing for hotels had become universally valid nullifying the existing local licensing requirements,” said Mr. Sujan.

N.C. Moinkutty, councillor from Azhchavattom, alleged that the resolution was aimed at concealing the Corporations failings in ensuring food safety. Though the Corporation’s health inspectors had conducted raids, no action was taken, he said. All hotels which were working in unhygienic conditions and without licences should be closed down, he demanded.

Deputy Mayor P.T. Abdul Latheef of the CPI (M) said the notification for the FSA came only in August 2011 during the time of the UDF government, in reply to the allegation by the Opposition members that the LDF government had given assent to the Bill when it was introduced in 2006.

The emergency resolution was put to vote after the Opposition demanded the removal of the parts criticising the government and was passed without any changes with 36 votes against 33.

Vellayil councillor K. Mohammedali, in a calling-attention motion, raised the issue of impure water being transported from the Mananchira pond. A news channel had reported recently that the water contained coliform bacteria, 40 per cent above the permissible limit, in a test conducted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM).

More than 90 per cent of the juice shops and restaurants in the city used this water, he said.

Mayor A.K. Premajam, in her reply to the motion, said it was the responsibility of the water authority to supply clean water. Still, the Corporation’s health committee had, with the help of the CWRDM, tested the Mananchira pond water in April this year, anticipating the water scarcity in the summer months.

“The amount of coliform bacteria was found to be below the permissible limits in the test. But the CWRDM had given a ‘not satisfactory’ report and suggested the usage of bleaching powder to treat the water.

Since there was no mechanism currently to treat water, the individuals who were drawing water from the pond were provided with bleaching powder. We are planning to implement a mechanism to pump chlorine gas into the pond and treat the water,” said the Mayor.

Even as the Pune division of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received a gazette notification banning the production, storage, sale and distribution of gutka and paan masala on Friday, 10 food safety officers (FSOs) immediately went to inspect the premises of major gutka wholesalers in the city.
Joint commissioner (food) Shashikant Kekre told DNA that the ban comes into force with immediate effect. “Small paan shops caught selling or stocking the product attracts a fine up to Rs25,000; wholesalers and distributors found violating the act might attract up to Rs1 lakh fine and 6 months’ imprisonment,” he said.
“We have a list of 15 major wholesalers in Pune city and our inspections have begun. If stocks are found, our officers will collect samples. The stocks would be then sealed and prohibited for usage. Appropriate action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 including filing first information report against the wholesaler will be taken,” added Kekre.
The gazette order issued by state government on Friday states that sale, manufacture, storage and distribution is banned in Maharashtra for period of one year. It instructs FSOs to collect samples and seal stocks as well as spread awareness amongst public about the ban.
The order clearly states the onus of implementing the ban lies on FSOs. The FDA has also been instructed to notify local district education officers to spread awareness about ban on gutka and paan masala in students.
“The order states that help of octroi officials should be taken to ensure that banned products do not enter the state from elsewhere. It states that vehicles be checked at octroi posts and if gutka or paan masala is found, stocks be seized and local FSO as well as police be informed,” added Kekre.
A copy of the order is to be sent to local police commissioner and rural police superintendents for action.

Pune With the state government ban on gutkha coming to force from Friday, Pune division office of the FDA has sent out teams to 15 locations in the city targeting wholesale gutkha vendors. Joint Commissioner FDA SR Kekre said the teams have fanned out and reports were awaited. According to the notification issued by the Food Safety Commissioner, Mahesh Zagade in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 in the interest of public health, manufacture, storage, distribution or sale of gutkha containing either tobacco or nicotine or magnesium carbonate as ingredients by whatsoever name has been made available in the market and any other products marketed separately are prohibited in the state for one year.
The state had banned gutkha twice earlier, in 2002 and 2008, but the ban could not be implemented due to numerous legal hassles. This is the third time that the Maharashtra government has announced a gutkha ban. Generally in the first phase, FDA takes action against sellers in 100 yards circumference around schools and footpath vendors. FDA has the power to file an FIR under FSSA 2006.

Q and A with Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, associate professor, head and neck dept, Tata Memorial HospitalWhy is gutkha banned, while the sale of bidis and cigarettes is still rampant?
According to the FSSAI regulation 2.3.4, gutkha is a prohibited food substance and state governments have to enforce it. Bidi and cigarette are tobacco products and there is no law to prohibit them. Is the ban necessary?
Under section 2.3.4, manufacture/storage/ sale of gutkha and pan masala is prohibited. In case of violation, the person can be arrested. We are hoping that eventually the interest in gutkha/paan masala will wear out. Which other states have done it?
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have implemented the ban. Has the ban in these sates been challenged in their respective high courts?
Gutkha/paan masala Industry did file writ petitions in MP, Bihar and Kerala for stay on ban. All the High Courts have upheld the ban. Bihar High court in fact dismissed the petition. Why is paan masala banned even though it does not contain tobacco?
* It contains Supari that causes cancer and several illnesses.
* Gutkha Industry sells Gutkha under the name of paan masala What about smuggled gutkha?
This is a genuine problem and it will remain as long as Gutkha ban is ot enforced all over India. What about black market availability?
This pushes the cost of Gutkha 5-6 times its retail price. This increase in price causes —
* Decrease in consumption among addicts
* No free availability for kids and youth who are not addicted. Do we have the infrastructure to enforce ban?
Maharashtra is the only state that has engaged police to enforce the ban. What happens after one year?
While the ban on Gutkha is permanent under Section 2.3.4, the ban on paan masala has to be renewed every year under Section 30.
What are the health effects of smokeless tobacco?
* Highly addictive with dismal quit rates of 5 per cent.
* International Agency for research on Cancer, WHO has classified smokeless tobacco as confirmed cancer causing substances.
* Contains 3095 chemicals and 28 well proven carcinogens
* Causes severe impairment of the oral and dental health
* It’s use is associated with increased risk of stroke.
* It adversely affects reproductive health in women and also seriously affects the fetus.
* Smokeless tobacco usage is also associated with oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, larynx, pharynx and lung cancer.

Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 (IANS) It took the death by food poisoning of a 21-year-old to shake Kerala’s health authorities out of their slumber on the lack of basic hygiene in many eateries across the state. In the past few days, some 50 establishments of varying sizes have been shut across the state for not following minimum standards.
All the 20,000 eateries across the state were shut Saturday to protest the health department’s raids.
On July 10, 21-year-old Sachin Mathew, a hotel management graduate, bought three ‘shawarmas’ from a restaurant located close to the Congress party headquarters here before boarding a bus for Bangalore.
En route to Bangalore that night, he rang up his mother and said he was unwell. From the next day on there was no contact with the parents and on July 14 they got a call from a lodge in Bangalore where he was staying that their son had died.
Also on July 10, the son of thespian Thilakan and his family also had ‘shawarmas’ from the same restaurant and they too fell ill and had to be admitted to hospital.
A day later the health authorities sealed the restaurant.
The health authorities in Kochi have banned the sale of shawarmas for a week.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association president Sudheesh Kumar told IANS that sales in hotels have dropped following the incident. The Association had called Saturday’s stir.
“To the best of my knowledge this is the first incident where a life has been lost due to food poisoning. We have begun a massive awareness drive among our members on the do’s and don’ts. At this point of time we do not wish to blame anyone,” said Kumar, who runs a plush seaside resort overlooking the Kovalam beach.
The Food Safety Department (FSD) of the state government has also opened a helpline and responses have started pouring in from the general public pointing to improper hygiene being maintained at eateries.
The authorities have asked the public to ensure that they keep the copy of the bill from the establishment where they ate as this would be crucial in case compensation was sought.
“The raids began from Tuesday and by now we have checked 511 eateries and have served improvement notices to 133. These notices are in fact warning signals to the hotel owners that they have to improve their hygiene and, if not, they will be closed down permanently,” said a FSD official.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K. Chandrika pointed out that following the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act last August, the civic body had lost to the state government the powers to rein in erring eateries.
“With this new law, the onus is on the state government and they have to do what has to be done. There is no point in blaming the corporation,” Chandrika, who belongs to the CPI-M, said.
Kerala assembly Speaker G. Karthikeyan, meanwhile, has asked the state government to find out if the responsible officials are doing their job.

PATNA: The Patna high court on Friday directed both the Union and the state governments to file affidavits in a case related to ban on gutka in Bihar. The court also issued notice to the chairman, Food Safety Standard Authority of India, asking him to file a separate affidavit in the case.
A single bench presided by Justice J N Singh passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by M/s Omkar Agencies, a trader engaged in gutka business. The case was filed after the state government seized gutka products from the said agency after enforcing ban on sale, manufacture and storage of gutka products in the state on May 30 this year.
Representing the Union government in the case, advocate S N Pathak said, "The petitioner had filed the case seeking quashing of the ban order, which, it said, was not in consonance with the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 of the Centre."
The court directed the Union government to file an affidavit stating whether gutka comes under the definition of food? The chairman, Food Safety Standard Authority of India, was also asked to state whether this notification was justified or not. The court also stayed any coercive action against the petitioner till the disposal of the case.

While the Food Safety Standard Act 2006 will come into effect on August 4 across the country, health authorities in the state have already written it off. They say the Act cannot be implemented here given the lack of infrastructure.
Member Mayor-in-Council (MMiC), Health, Partha Hajari said: “For starters there are only 26 health inspectors for 141 wards. Is it physically possible to implement the Act in such a scenario? Will I be able to control the food quality of the streetside phuchkawalas? Just like the problems of hawkers, unemployment and population explosion, this, too, will remain unsolved,” he said.
Sweetmeat traders are afraid that certain norms of the Act, if implemented, could drive them out of business. “The raw materials and the finished products need to be tested in a microbiology laboratory and a report has to be submitted. Of the few lakh sweetmeat manufacturers in the state, only two have such a lab. We have also been asked to test the water used and send a report. The water is supplied by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. What can we do if they supply contaminated water? Besides, in some cases, we have to mix equal amount of starch with chhena for preparing sweets. Those would be tagged as adulterated,” said R K Paul, honorary general secretary, Paschimbanga Mistanna Byabasayee Samity.
He said the FSS Act has some worrying penalties as well. “Non-compliance with the norms can attract a fine of over Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment of seven years. This is not fair. There should be a clear demarcation for sweetmeat traders and how they should be doing business because the character of Bengali sweets is different from those of the rest of the country,” Paul said.
He also said there should be government test centres where manufacturers could test products against a fee.
Authorities have, however, assured there would be a “relaxed application” of the norms. “The application would be relaxed due to the lack of infrastructure. It cannot be applied strictly overnight,” said Hajari.
Public health engineering minister Subrata Mukherjee said the sweetmeat traders need not worry. “We will concentrate more on the pesticide content in vegetables and fruits,” he said.

To implement the ban on gutkha and paan masala, the state food and drugs administration (FDA) will rope in several agencies such as the police, municipal authorities and transport department, said Mahesh Zagade, state FDA commissioner, on Friday.

The state government had issued a

notification on Thursday banning sale, distribution and manufacture of gutkha and paan masala in Maharashtra from July 20. “We were able to ban both gutkha and paan masala using sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA). All stakeholders should come forward to help us implement the ban,” Zagade added.
From now on, 208 food safety inspectors will take strict action against persons selling gutkha or paan masala which contains tobacco, nicotine and magnesium carbonate, it is learnt. The fines for non-compliance will range from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2 lakh and also attract a jail term of up to six months. The ban will be valid for a year.
The state had attempted to ban gutkha twice earlier — in 2002 and then in 2008 — but encountered several legal hurdles.
The FSSA, which came into effect last year, gave the FDA the authority to introduce a ban on food products that are harmful to public health. Zagade said the classification of gutkha and paan masala as food by the Supreme Court had enabled them to introduce this ban. Cigarettes and bidis do not fall under this category.
Doctors and activists have welcomed the move.
“We request the government to give powers to gazetted officers to create a cadre of people,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, associate professor, Tata Memorial Hospital.

Strange are the ways the food safety authorities function in the state – an issue that has come to the fore in the context of the food poisoning case involving a capital eatery the other day.
While it’s almost a year since Food Safety Commission (FSC) offices in the districts started accepting applications for licences – for eateries/hotels -- under the new Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the commission headquarter here is completely in the dark about the number of applications received and licences issued till date in the state.
The officials at the FSC office here said they were not keeping the records and these were being maintained at the district offices.
Joint FSC, K Anil Kumar said, “The act came into force in the state on August 5, 2011 and we have been collecting applications for licences across the state since then. The applications go to the district offices where these are processed after checking the credentials. Our staff also visit the shops to crosscheck the facilities mentioned in the application forms, before issuing the licence.”
Anil Kumar said that the commission would come out with the details of the number of licences issued, and applications pending and rejected, by August.
Meanwhile, the office of the Food Safety Commissioner conducted raids in 240 hotels across the state.
Three hotels, one in Pathanamthitta and two in Ernakulam, were closed down and improvement notices were issued to 133 hotels. In Ernakulam district alone, more than 40 eateries were closed by enforcement agencies, including the health wing of local bodies.

Thiruvananthapuram: After garbage, the Left-led Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the UDF are now sparring over stale hotel food. Mayor K Chandrika on Thursday said that the State Government alone was responsible for food getting ‘poisoned in the kitchens of the eateries in the State.’
Her statement came after the UDF councillors staged a sit-in in front of the Corporation office on Thursday morning. The councillors demanding her resignation should instead urge the State Government to perform its duties, Chandrika said, terming the sit-in a political gimmick.
Chandrika said that the death of Sachin Mathew Roy due to food poisoning raises serious questions about control over eateries. The Food Safety and Standard Act which came into effect on August 5, 2011, has ‘usurped’ the powers of the local bodies vis a vis food safety, she said.

A circular issued by the Food Safety Commissioner last year also makes it clear that the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 and the Kerala Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules 2007 stand repealed with the introduction of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Rules, 2011, from August 5, 2011. Local bodies, including the Corporation, were also asked not to collect PFA licence fee from that date, the Mayor said.